Like most GCR Task Force members, I entered our assignment with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. In such a short time we were given the charge to study our Convention, analyze her inner workings, and come to some resolutions and recommendations of why we are in decline in baptisms and growth. Having served as an Associational Moderator, State Convention President, Chairman on Order of Business, President of the Pastors’ Conference, State Board member, and an International Board member, I felt I was aware of who we were as a denomination and even had some of my own opinions of where we should lead in forthcoming changes to our sacred organization.
Seven months into our process, I have discovered this…what I thought I knew I realize I didn’t, and what changes I naively was hoping for probably would not make me a better Pastor or this denomination a more viable force as a change agent for the world. While there has come to me a realization of what I did not know, I can say in full assurance and confidence there are a few things as a result of this Task Force that I do know. Let me mention just two.
Southern Baptists have been Enriched with a Spiritual Heritage. When I think of our history, the hundreds of years in existence, and the men and women who have led our denomination, I am grateful to be one of them. Men like Adoniram Judson and women like Lottie Moon are people whom Sovereign God used as models for evangelism and missions. If we see a world today more broken and hopeless, it is only because we are standing on their shoulders and our gaze across the landscape is because of their elevation.
Secondly, we have been Entrusted with a Sacred Honor. To take the gospel across the street and around the world is both a divine privilege and a biblical command. You need to know that, as a Task Force, we are firm in our convictions that spirituality overrides structure and God’s agenda and program supersedes our preferences. It is, has been, and always will be about His Glory and not ours. We are also solidified in this belief: God does not need us as a denomination; but conversely it is us that is in need of Him, His touch, wisdom, and direction.
With a fresh knowledge of our spiritual heritage and sacred honor and a recognition that He is worthy of our best, we have for seven months interviewed, talked, prayed, fasted, sought counsel, phone-conferenced, met until the wee hours of the morning, for only one reason. We want the Glory of God to be revealed and the good of our denomination to be restored as a spiritual force for reaching all the peoples of the world, beginning in our own Jerusalem and extending to the farthest point of lostness.
One last thing I have observed. To a person on this Task Force, you have appointed men and women who love God and this denomination. Not one time have I witnessed agendas, preferences, or even myopic thinking. We have been led with skill and excellence from our Chairman Ronnie Floyd. We have experienced full cooperation from all denominational entities, and we look forward to a report in June that firmly resolves we see missional churches engaged to make a difference in the lostness of our world.
Thank you for your prayers, and remember, you too are part of this heritage and honor. It is both spiritual and sacred.
